The Effects of Participation in Recreational Activities on Students’ Resilience and Sense of Belonging

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of participation in five different recreational activities—instructor-led group fitness or exercise classes, intramural sports, open recreation, outdoor adventure activities and/or trips, or sport clubs—on undergraduates’ resilience and sense of belonging. We used data from the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) survey, which was completed by 48,232 undergraduates at 71 U.S. colleges and universities in spring 2018. We used propensity score matching procedures to construct matched pairs of students who did and did not have high levels of engagement in the recreational activities. The results of ordinary least squares analyses suggest that college students’ participation in instructor-led group fitness or exercise classes, intramural sports, open recreation, outdoor adventure activities and/or trips, and sport clubs has positive effects on students’ resilience and sense of belonging. Undergraduates’ participation in recreational activities can therefore serve as a catalyst for developing positive outcomes.